


Warm Sounds of an Engine

by burnheals



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Demisexual! Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mechanic! Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 16:36:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10666584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnheals/pseuds/burnheals
Summary: Keith quits his shitty cashier job to chase his dream job of being a mechanic. Lance is along for the ride.





	Warm Sounds of an Engine

Nothing beats a warm Saturday morning. Especially when Friday was filled with romantic escapades. Keith and Lance have been in this steady relationship for months now, coming up on their sixth. Lance truly loved Keith. There was never a shadow of a doubt when he realized that the ache in his heart changed to the warm, liquid feeling of dopamine spreading throughout his entire being. It was a bumpy road, but Lance figured it out.

Keith on the other hand, struggled a little bit. Keith had other things to think about: keeping his job and paying for a roof over his head. Keith thought falling in love with someone would be an inconvenience, nor did he really enjoy the idea. However, when it’s Lance, things seems to always work itself out. It wasn’t just him tackling problems anymore, he had a partner-in-crime. 

•·.··.·• •·.··.·

It all started Seven months ago, Keith had been in a constant state of uneasiness. Trying to apply for a new part-time job was creating dark, heavy shadows underneath the young man’s eyes. Keith had been trying for a month now to do something he enjoyed. He quit his tiring cashier job at a family dollar store, in hopes of pursuing something in more of a hands-on field. He had already been working off the books as everyone's personal mechanic, but Keith thought it would be safer to just put his skills to the test in an actual shop. Everyone was ecstatic to hear the news: Shiro was proud to see his best friend actually take the first step; Pidge gave him a kind hug with a small smile, saying, “Good luck! I'm happy for you man”; and Hunk's hug was even bigger. However, Keith still felt like he was just walking in circles, going backwards. He was now unemployed, with only so much money to afford his small apartment on the edge of town.

•·.··.·• •·.··.·• 

This was when Lance came in. Keith had always liked Lance. He admired his ability to be chipper despite hiding some of the pain all people in their early twenties felt. While Lance did annoy him from time to time, he had learned to just simply go along with whatever Lance had planned in his head. When Lance heard about Keith’s decision, Lance replied back with a smile:

“That’s awesome man. I know how much you really hated it there.” Lance placed a hand on his shoulder and Keith nodded in return.

“Yeah. I think that one woman asking if we accepted Target coupons was the last straw,” He laughed. “It was getting too much…”

“I know what you mean…” He handed Keith a cold soda, which the other popped open with his finger, taking a refreshing gulp of the carbonated drink. “You might have inspired me to quit my job.” Lance mirrored his actions, sinking down next to Keith on the sofa with soda can in hand.

“You’d never leave Matt’s. You love reading the comics too much.” Keith gave him a small smirk, which Lance returned with a shrug.

“I dunno man, I love the peace and quiet, but there’s only so much you can take in a bookstore.” Lance then raised his drink, holding it in the air next to Keith. “To Keith. For moving on from a shitty job to a pretty awesome one.”

Keith snorted and tapped the cold metal with his half-drunk Coke. “Cheers.” He had always, from the bottom of his heart, liked Lance.

•·.··.·• •·.··.·• 

Then, a month later, Allura, a college friend of Shiro's, heard about Keith's interest. She called him up early in the morning, offering him a job interview at her family friend's shop. An hour later, Keith met Coran, a happy-go-lucky man with grease all over his face and an orange mustache stained black with oil. They spent the afternoon talking and sharing silly stories about some of the bikes and cars they'd worked with. Coran said that Keith reminded him of the passion he had (still has) for the nuts and bolts of a fine locomotive. With a firm, grease-smeared handshake, Keith was filled with joy to finally be working somewhere he belonged. 

Then, as things were getting better, Keith panicked. Throughout the first month of his new job, Lance seemed to visit every day on his 45 minute lunch break. Lance would always bring him his usual hot coffee with a little sugar and a lot of milk from the Starbucks down the street. He would help pass Keith his tools, learning along the way what they meant. Keith was astonished by how much interest Lance was showing in his work.

“Hey Keith, would you teach me how to ride one of those?” Lance pointed to the Ducati Monster Keith had spent the last hour on repairing. The client came in saying that one brake handles were stuck, but as always, there was more to it than that.

Keith wiped some of the grease off his hands with a raggedy cloth. “Not one of these. These cost way too much money for a beginner to ride.” Keith sucked in a breath and shook his head. “Besides, I wouldn’t have you ride one of these guys.” He patted the seat of the bike, wheeling it to the side. “They’re a little too advanced to learn on. Especially since you always scream when you’re on the back of mine,” he laughed.

“Hey! I just thought it would be cool to learn you know? Cruising at the speed of light, wind in my hair—” Lance propped his chin on his hand and daydreamed.

“Why would you not wear a helmet? That’s dangerous.” Keith stated, confused.

“Let a guy fantasize, Keith.”

 •·.··.·• •·.··.·•

On a random Friday night, Keith picked up Lance after his shift at Matt’s. Lance had decided to sleep over since he would have another early shift the following day, and didn’t want to travel the distance, rushing his morning routine.

“Is it just me, or does it seem to get smaller every time I come here?” Lanced joked as he took off his shoes at the door.

“Yeah, I think I should look for a new place. I have the income for it now, and a little more space would be nice.” Keith hung up his lanyard on its designated hook by the door and did the same with his shoes. 

“Thanks again for letting me stay over, do you mind letting me take the shower first?” Lance jerked his head towards the bathroom. Keith muttered a soft “sure” before making his way to the kitchenette, grabbing two mugs. One red with a simple geometric design, and one with blue and white stripes looping around the ceramic. Lance had brought it over one day, forcing it into Keith's cabinet.

Keith felt a wave of happiness rush through him and he smiled into his cup. He loved the feeling of being in close proximity with Lance. It calmed his nerves knowing someone he liked was close by.

It was at this point Keith realized his ‘like’ was turning into ‘love,’ and he was elated at the idea of having Lance come home to him after a long day of rearranging early Deadpool comics. Listening to stories of customers who seemed to know more about what was in stock than Lance does. Lance and him sharing the same home. How Keith would wash these mugs every single day for constant use, being filled and refilled, to be placed in soft tanned hands. How Lance could finally attempt to brew those coffee beans his aunt sent him from Cuba. 

Some time later, Lance demanded Keith move in with him, and who was Keith to refuse such an offer?

•·.··.·• •·.··.·• 

Fast forward to now, bright streams of light bursting through the blinds. A warm stripe across Keith’s eyes, causing him to crack his eyes open. The pressure on his back was comforting, and he turned like a screw in place to face the source of heat.

Lance was still sleeping, his chest rising and falling slowly. The light of the morning sun was making small yellow bars on his face and grey T-shirt. In response to Keith’s movements, there was a quick crinkle of Lance’s upturned nose, followed by him curling his body, his forehead knocking lightly against Keith’s. Keith smiled up at him, placing a hand on his bicep, slowly rubbing up and down his arm. With that, Lance slowly opened his eyes, blinking once, staring into Keith’s eyes.

“Good morning, babe,” his voice croaked. Keith let out a puffy laugh in response.

“Morning,” he replied curtly, draping his arm around Lance’s waist to bring himself closer and kiss the other boy on the cheek. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

Lance responded by lowering himself to peck Keith quickly on the lips. “It’s fine. I like it when you wake me up like this.” Lance let out a breath. “I have today off, by the way. Did you want to do anything?” Lance pressed a kiss to Keith’s hair as he rubbed his back.

Keith let out a pleasant sigh, shoving his face into the other’s neck to press a small kiss into the patch of skin. “Can we just stay home and just watch TV? I want a lazy day. Just me and you.”

Lance sat up lazily and stretched, letting out a long yawn. “Only if you let me pick.” Keith followed, sitting so close their thighs touched.

“Sure thing.” He pulled Lance into a slow, chaste kiss, feeling the warmth of the other fill his veins.

Lance broke the kiss and forced Keith into a hug. “I love you.”

Keith smiled, wrapping his arms around him. “I love you, too.”

In that moment, hearing the soft hum of traffic outside, along with the delicate beating of Lance’s heart, Keith knew his life was only up from here.

**Author's Note:**

> Finally. I've written mechanic Keith. This is also an audition piece for a zine that I'm applying to so fingers crossed! Thank you to both Bets and Jen for looking this over and correcting some mistakes you guys rock!
> 
> follow me on twitter if you'd like: @burnheals (some may already know me who knows?)


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